Musharraf regrets his 'political misstep' that derailed 'possible Kashmir resolution'

Islamabad, Sep.25 (ANI): Former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has regretted his decision of implementing emergency which created further trouble in the country and impeded his 'out of the box' solution for the Kashmir issue.

In an interview to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Musharraf said India and Pakistan were close to ending the long pending Kashmir dispute which could well have been resolved had his 'political misstep' not derailed the initiative.

"Yes, it is one of my regrets," Musharraf said.

"We were close. I only wish the two governments would start again. The leaders need to be open-minded and bold," he added.

The resolution to the issue could have undermined the efforts of the terror groups operating in the region, and would have made the region more peaceful and stable, he said.

Musharraf, once a hard liner on the issue, also realized over the years that countering the internal threat from the Taliban was more important for Pakistan than waging a proxy war against India.

"I thought we had to have peace for the sake of the entire region, and for India and Pakistan. We could reap a lot of economic advantages," he said.

Describing his plans for resolving the K-issue, Musharraf said he had presented a 'broad outline' in this context.

"I wanted to make the Line of Control irrelevant, to open it on six to eight places and let trade flourish. That way, Pakistan could say the line was finished, and India could say it still existed," The PK on web quoted the former general, as saying. (ANI)